Saturday, February 18, 2012

"pass the Tabasco please"

Friday morning was another gray cloudy day and there was a threat of showers. Rudee had picked up a bunch of tourist fliers from the campground office and had been studying them for things to do in the area. Since we are staying for a week and the the weather is supposed to improve starting Sunday we decided to keep the bike covered and take the Dakota today.

We headed for Avery Island, home of McElhenney family and Tabasco brand hot pepper sauce.

The factory was established on this island not long after the civil war ended to produce the now familiar hot sauce developed by Mr. McElhenney. The company is still owned and operated by his decedents using the same recipe he developed all those years ago.

The factory tour was fairly short starting with the history of the company and then the process of changing peppers into sauce was explained. You do get to walk through a glassed in walkway with views of the bottling process with an occasional sign explaining what you were looking at.

The most interesting point I found in the process was learning that the pepper mash is stored for at least 3 years in used wooden barrels. They actually buy the barrels from the Jack Daniels Distillery who can only use them one time to age their bourbon. Once the mash is in the barrels the lid is put on and it has vent holes to allow gases out, to keep water and air from going back in the holes they cover them with salt. The salt is mined right here on the island and was the original business of the McElhenney family. Here are a couple of familier faces taking it easy outside the gift shop :-).

Once we were done at the factory and adjacent gift shop we drove to the Jungle Gardens which got its start as a bird sanctuary to save the dwindling number of Egrets who were being killed for their feathers to be used in ladies hats. We stopped at the visitor center but felt like the entrance fee of $8.00 was a little excessive so we passed on going into the grounds.

Looking at the map we found Cypremort State Park nearby and thought we would check it out. The park sits right on a point separating Vermillon Bay and West Cote Blanche Bay. We paid the $1.00 per person entrance fee and headed for a covered picnic table on the beach for a picnic lunch. We had some company at lunch when a couple of Grackles came by looking for a hand out and kept "yelling" at us :-).

The park is really small and consists of a beach area, fishing pier and a few rental cabins but it made a great place to enjoy our lunch. There is also a large coastal community adjacent to the park and we enjoyed driving through looking at all the homes up on stilts.

We decided to head back to the 5th wheel and made a stop at Wal Mart for groceries. We made it back home a little after 4pm and looked forward to relaxing in front of the TV. The rain never materialized but the sun only peaked out once or twice otherwise it was a pretty cloudy day. Saturday looks to be the worst day weather wise. They are predicting a 100% chance for rain and thunderstorms and we are under a flood watch. Guess we better be ready to run to high ground if need be. I'll keep you posted.

2 comments:

Phil & Rudee,We'll have to put Avery Island on our list of places to stop by when we get out that way. I know Judy will be interested in the Jack Daniels connection. Way back in 1975 (still newly weds) I received orders to CA from FL. After a short vist to see our parents in GA we headed out west. Just two young kids (25 & 22). I planned a trip without the use of GPS that we could see interesting places along the way. Our first stop was the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, TN. That wanderlust we had then still exist to day.

About Me

We sold our house in 2009 and moved into our Montana 5th Wheel living and working in Central Indiana, saving for early retirement. That day finally came and in October of 2011 we dropped out of the rat race for a life on the road! In October of 2012 we traded the Montana and Freightliner for a Winnebago Journey motor home. Follow along as we travel the country living and working from our RV.